Announcing Launch of the New Prize for Gifted Croatian Children

NEW YORK, September 16th, 2014 - The New York Academy of Sciences today announced it will establish the Soljačić Prize for Gifted Croatian Children to celebrate the most promising, noteworthy high school science students in Croatia.

The Prize will be established through a donation from the 2014 Blavatnik National Award Laureate Dr. Marin Soljačić, Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and will be administered by the New York Academy of Sciences.

"I wanted to do something like this for a long time: find a way to encourage children in my own country, Croatia, to excel in academics. It is very important to have recognition at the early stages of people's academic careers, to acknowledge and celebrate the pursuit of knowledge, just like what the Blavatnik Awards do," says Dr. Soljačić.

Dr. Soljačić has made numerous discoveries of novel physical phenomena and applied his discoveries to invent new technologies. In the early 2000s, Dr. Soljačić's group spearheaded development of a novel kind of wireless power transfer technology that can be applied to a variety of consumer applications, suchas wireless mobile phone and laptop chargers.

Dr. Soljačić hopes that the Prize will emphasize the importance of encouraging younger kids to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and will further inspire other Croatian leaders to support young scholars in the country.

The new Prize will advance the Academy's long term goal of creating systemic improvements in global STEM literacy, from primary education to the professional level, ultimately establishing a feedback loop to foster the next generation of innovators.

"We are proud to partner with Dr. Soljačić for this important Prize. Marin Soljačić represents the best of what the Blavatnik Awards aim to accomplish: identify and encourage the most talented and innovative scientists of today to serve as role models to the global youth." says Ellis Rubinstein, President and CEO of the New York Academy of Sciences.

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About the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists

The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists honor exceptional young scientists and engineers by celebrating their extraordinary achievements, recognizing outstanding promise, and accelerating innovation through unrestricted funding. For more detailed information, please visit: www.blavatnikawards.org

About the New York Academy of Sciences

The New York Academy of Sciences is an independent, not-for-profit organization that since 1817 has been committed to advancing science, technology, and society worldwide. With 22,000 members in 100 countries, the Academy is creating a global community of science for the benefit of humanity. The Academy's core mission is to advance scientific knowledge, positively impact the major global challenges of society with science-based solutions, and increase the number of scientifically informed individuals in society at large. Please visit us online at www.nyas.org